Catalogue of Czech Television Programmes
A look at a people whose life pilgrimage started at the beginning of the conflicted and troublesome 20th century. In the White Carpathian mountains on the edge of Europe people continue to live whose lifestyle and culture today still retain something of the last century. For a period of one year the filmmakers visited several old mountain people living their everyday lives and also celebrating church holidays. In this way they created a testimony to the lives of people who, despite the tough mountain conditions, have maintained their free-spiritedness and humor as an expression of their inner strength. The film excels above all in the incredible contrast it presents between the monumentality of the mountains, seasons and rough human singing and prayer, and the everyday lot of human existence. This includes the difficulties of the elderly—those holding onto the conventional traditions and activities which are slowly disappearing along with those who practice them. The interdependence of the lifestyle, culture and farming practices of Carpathian mountain people with the surrounding environment, their respect for nature and the world order will not as a rule extend into the next century.
SD | 57' | © 1999
director(s): Břetislav Rychlík
producer(s): Czech Television, Nadace Film a sociologie
scriptwriter(s): Břetislav Rychlík
director of photography: Karel Slach
original language: Czech
other data: Awards: International Film and TV Festival „U siebie“ Krakow - 3rd Prize